Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 50:

In page 19, subsection (4), between lines 43 and 44, to insert the following:

"(e) The Minister shall lay the draft regulations before the relevant Oireachtas Committee for debate. The Minister shall consider the recommendations of the Oireachtas Committee before signing final regulations.".

The reason I tabled the amendment is the regulations laid down by the Minister will have a serious impact, especially on citizens involved in the provision of housing. If the amendment is accepted, regulations introduced by him or her should be brought before the joint Oireachtas committee for discussion. The committee can consult all the various stakeholders and take their views on board, thus ensuring the regulations are properly debated in a timely fashion. The Minister should lay regulations before the committee which would be a worthwhile sounding board. It would be a worthwhile function of the committee to discuss regulations relating to this legislation. We would ask that the Minister of State take this amendment into consideration.